Last Tuesday, the Indiana University Media School fired IU Director of Student Media Jim Rodenbush after he refused to tell Indiana Daily Student staff to cut news from the Oct. 16 Homecoming guide edition of the paper.
Following a letter from IDS Co-Editors-in-Chief Mia Hilkowitz and Andrew Miller criticizing Rodenbush’s firing, The Media School cut print entirely, an action Hilkowitz and Miller labeled censorship. IU alumni, faculty and journalism organizations reacted to what became international news, with coverage from The New York Times and The Guardian.
IU Bloomington Chancellor David Reingold
IU Bloomington Chancellor David Reingold released a statement Oct. 15.
“To be clear, the campus’ decision concerns the medium of distribution, not editorial content,” he said. “All editorial decisions have and will continue to rest solely with the leadership of IDS and all IU student media. We uphold the right of student journalists to pursue stories freely and without interference.”
Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression wrote a letter to IU President Pamela Whitten on Oct. 16 requesting the university halt its efforts to control the IDS’ content, offer Rodenbush reinstatement, take back its order that the IDS stop printing, and “reaffirm its commitment to upholding academic freedom and a free press.”
“As an educational institution, IU has a responsibility to teach student journalists their journalistic craft; its insistence on censoring student reporters and removing their advisor guts the education IU purports to provide,” the letter said.
William Harris, FIRE Strategic Campaigns Specialist, condemned IU’s actions in another Oct. 16 article.
“Firing Rodenbush and banning the paper are textbook First Amendment violations that IU claims are part of a digital-first media strategy,” he said. “But that’s a smokescreen. Cutting the print edition and removing a longtime adviser after critical coverage isn’t a strategy. It’s retaliation. And it’s illegal.”
Indiana University Bloomington American Association of University Professors
On Oct. 16, the IUB chapter of the AAUP condemned the firing of Jim Rodenbush and the termination of the IDS print edition, calling it a “clear attempt at media censorship.” The statement said the IUB chapter of AAUP stands in solidarity with the staff of the IDS in their defense of the First Amendment.
“We urge IU administrators to reconsider these unconstitutional actions that serve only to corrode Indiana University’s standing as a credible research institution and further diminish the value of the education our students are receiving,” the statement said.
Poynter Institute
In an Oct. 15 opinion article for Poynter, IU alumna Annie Aguiar, an arts and culture correspondent for Lookout Eugene-Springfield, critiqued The Media School's firing of Rodenbush. Aguiar questioned the framing of Rodenbush’s firing as a financial choice and critiqued Tolchinsky’s understanding of the ethics at the core of The Media School.
“It seems IU, and the Media School specifically, are hesitant to support the conditions that make for good journalism,” Aguiar wrote. “They can feel free to prove me wrong by reinstating Rodenbush immediately.”
Aguiar also said she felt ashamed to be a graduate of IU, but would never be ashamed of working for the IDS.
In another opinion article published Oct. 17, Poynter Institute Senior Media Writer Tom Jones called Rodenbush’s firing and The Media School's choice to cut print “a mess created by leadership at IU.” Jones praised the design work of the digital paper the IDS published in place of the print version, specifically citing the black boxes that replaced ads from lost advertising contracts due to the print cut.
“It was brilliantly effective. And proof that you might not want to mess with smart journalists and clever designers,” Jones said.
The Purdue Exponent
After offering to print the IDS for free, The Purdue Exponent, Purdue University’s independently run student newspaper, printed and delivered special edition copies of its paper across IU’s campus Friday. The front page read, “We student journalists must stand together.”
In a post on X, Exponent Adviser Kyle Charters referred to the act as "Operation Clandestine Delivery.” The paper featured letters from both paper’s editors in an edition that focused on editorial independence as an act of solidarity for student journalism.
Mark Cuban
Entrepreneur and IU alumnus Mark Cuban took to X to comment on the paper being cut.
“Not happy,” Cuban said. “Censorship isn’t the way. I gave money to IU general fund for the IDS last year, so they could pay for everyone and not run a deficit. I gave more than they asked for. I told them I’m happy to help because the IDS is so important to kids at IU.”
Student Press Law Center
An Oct. 15 statement from the Student Press Law Center quoted Jonathan Gaston-Falk, SPLC staff attorney.
“If the abrupt ousting of the student media director was related to his refusal to participate in such censorship, the message is clear; IU no longer welcomes a free student press,” he said. “The Media School must reverse course immediately, before more damage is done to its reputation and to its student’s rights.”
Indiana University Student Publications Alumni Association
The IU Student Publications Alumni Association wrote a letter to IU Media School Dean David Tolchinsky, saying any effort to dictate what the IDS covers went against the Media School's own agreement with student journalists.
“The circumstances around the dismissal of Jim Rodenbush and the sudden elimination of the print edition of the IDS raise urgent questions about the integrity and independence of student journalism at IU,” the letter said.
The letter went on to request a meeting with Tolchinsky to discuss the changes and “reaffirm IU’s and the Media School’s commitment to editorial independence.”
Indiana High School Press Association
The Indiana High School Press Association announced that it is severing ties with The Media School in response to what Ryan Gunterman, the executive director of IHSPA and an IDS alumnus, called “an unacceptable infringement on press freedom.”
The IHSPA released a statement Oct. 20 and sent a letter to Tolchinsky on Oct. 21 regarding its decision to suspend its relationship with The Media School. Teresa White, director of the High School Journalism Institute at IU, said this separation means IHSPA will no longer send students to HSJI, and that The Media School will not have a presence at IHSPA’s state convention until IU restores the IDS' “autonomy.“
Media School faculty
On Oct. 17, 19 Media School faculty members issued a statement saying they were “appalled by Chancellor David A. Reingold’s decision to cut the print edition of the Indiana Daily Student hours before publication” The statement said the school’s actions broke the Student Media Action Plan, threatened editorial independence and breached core values of journalism.
The statement continued saying to honor students and repair trust with alumni, leadership should produce a full, independent account of the events of the last week.
“This must include a restoration of the printed special editions of the Indiana Daily Student as agreed upon in the Student Media Action Plan,” the statement said. “We stand ready to join a conversation about next steps.”
Homecoming parade demonstration
On Oct. 17 starting at 5 p.m. around 25 people chanted and held signs during the Homecoming parade on the sidewalk north of Dunn Meadow along Seventh Street. The group included some IU faculty.
IDS Managing Editors Jack Forrest and Alayna Wilkening spoke to the attendees before the parade started and thanked the public for their continued support.
“Football, basketball, full court press. Don’t suppress the IDS,” some protesters chanted during the demonstration. The sentiment was shared on a small white sign that had drawings of a basketball and a football.
The demonstrators held up signs and chanted as the parade passed, with little reaction from those marching.
One large sign read “WHY AXE THE IDS HOMECOMING ISSUE??” and displayed a web address to the IDS’ digital Homecoming edition in white text.
Another sign said, “WHY HIDE THE WHITTEN PLAGIARISM REPORT?” and showed a web address to an Indiana Public Media article discussing IU’s public relations approach.
A third sign read, “WHY WRECK THE VALUE OF AN IU DIPLOMA?” and linked an article about the "Freedoms Under Assault" documentary made by documentarian Jacky Comforty and IU Chancellor’s Professor Emeritus of Education Robert Arnove, as well as Abdulkader Sinno’s guest column with the IDS.
Attendees handed out copies they made of the Homecoming issue’s front page to people walking past. The papers had a QR code to the digital issue.
Retired faculty
In a shared statement of support for Media School faculty, 14 retired professors shared their shock with IU’s effort to stifle and censor the IDS. The letter applauds the faculty for supporting the IDS and calls upon Tolchinsky to “engage in good faith” and “restore the reputation” of The Media School.
“If Dean Tolchinsky, Associate Dean Clavio and Assistant Dean McFall do not accept and support the independence of the IDS that the Indiana University Board of Trustees protected in the 1969 charter, they should make way for leaders who do,” the statement said.
